It sounds like a simple question.
A homeowner engages an independent building inspector.
The inspector identifies an issue requiring attention.
The report is provided to the builder.
What should happen next?
Our experience building with New Choice Homes has made us think more carefully about this.
On 4 September 2026, our independent roof-frame inspection identified several matters requiring action or further assessment.
From a homeowner’s perspective, once an issue has been formally identified, there should be a clear process for dealing with it.
Someone should take responsibility for:
• recording the issue
• determining what action is required
• obtaining appropriate technical advice where necessary
• arranging any corrective work
• verifying that the work has actually been completed
• providing the homeowner with reliable information about the outcome
The homeowner should not have to become the person coordinating that process.
Nor should an issue simply disappear because construction has moved on to the next stage.
One of the matters identified during our inspection required an engineer’s comment.
Initially, New Choice Homes advised that no action was required, based on advice from the roof carpenter rather than the engineering assessment requested by our inspector.
Following repeated enquiries by us, New Choice Homes eventually referred the matter for engineering assessment.
That experience highlights a broader issue.
The inspector can identify the problem.
The homeowner can raise it and seek answers.
But neither controls the trades, the construction program or the builder’s internal processes.
For independent inspections to provide meaningful protection, there needs to be a clear chain from:
IDENTIFICATION → ASSESSMENT → ACTION → VERIFICATION → CLOSURE
And the homeowner should be able to understand where an identified issue sits within that process.
Defect management should not depend on repeated follow-up by the consumer.
It should be part of the builder’s normal quality-control and construction-management process.
Independent inspections can identify problems.
The real test is what happens after they do.